Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, center, makes his way into court on Jan. 3, 2023. (Matt Masterson / WTTW News)

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan appeared for a court hearing in person for the first time Wednesday, nearly two years after he was first indicted on federal racketeering and bribery charges.

Madigan was told he could appear via videoconference for Wednesday’s hearing, in which U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey heard his request to delay his upcoming April trial.

Madigan — who is charged alongside his longtime confidant Michael McClain — is currently scheduled to stand trial on April 1 on allegations that he participated in, and benefited from, a variety of corruption schemes. Among the charges he’s facing are counts of racketeering conspiracy, using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion.

McClain appeared in court Wednesday over video.

The delay request comes as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a separate case (James E. Snyder v. U.S.) that could determine whether the federal bribery statute ​​criminalizes only bribery or also reaches gratuities — defined as payments in recognition of actions a state or local official has already taken or committed to take, without any quid pro quo agreement to take those actions.

Madigan’s defense team argued the Snyder decision could have a “monumental impact” on this “irrefutably complex” case.

“The interests of judicial economy and fairness to the parties, particularly the defendants, dictate the need for a stay of the proceedings or, at the very least, a continuance of the trial date until after the Supreme Court renders its decision in Snyder,” attorneys for Madigan and McClain wrote in a December motion.

Already, McClain and three other former Commonwealth Edison officials have been tried and convicted of conspiring to bribe Madigan to get his support on Springfield legislation favorable to the utility giant.

Those four — McClain, ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, retired ComEd executive John Hooker and ex-City Club of Chicago president and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty — were each convicted of bribery conspiracy and other charges last May and were scheduled to be sentenced this month.

Instead, those hearings have been stricken after they too raised concerns over the potential impact of the Snyder decision.

In responding to Madigan’s motion, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu noted — as he did when the ComEd Four bribery defendants sought a similar delay — that the Northern District of Illinois ranks near the bottom in terms of the time it takes to resolve federal criminal cases.

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